The Failure of the Year (and a Quarter)

The failure of this campaign came at a great human cost.

The campaign to bring back the Israeli hostages in Gaza failed to break the coalition’s wall of obstinance. Warnings that abandoning the hostages to their death would undermine the unspoken contract between citizens and their state were ultimately ignored. Indifference and cruelty prevailed.

A year and three months after the horrific Hamas attack on the southern border communities and the abduction of 251 Israelis and others, there is still no deal on the table to bring them home. Polls consistently show that the majority of Israelis support such a deal, yet the public remain silent and indifferent, while the voices portraying the hostages as enemies equal to Hamas, no less, resonate louder in the media outlets which have become mouthpieces for the military and government. Israelis have shown they can adapt well. They can turn extreme madness into a mundane routine. Ultimately, the bitter cries of parents whose loved ones languish in cold, damp tunnels, have failed to move the public out of its apathy.

Where did they go wrong? As early as 2023, in the first two or three months following the massacre, while the media mouthpieces had yet to receive their script, the campaign focused on global impact with multi-million dollar campaigns in the US and Europe. Even the slogan was in English — Bring Them Home, they said. But why on earth? Israeli history has taught us that only the Israeli government makes deals for the release of hostages and prisoners, and only they should be pressured. Israelis can protest outside the White House all they want, but if the Israeli Prime Minister in power doesn’t let his own people go, why would anyone else?

Also, the campaign gravely erred by failing to refute the military deception that sold the public the lie that military pressure on Hamas would lead to the hostages’ release when, from the outset, it was clear that the opposite was true. Missing the critical window of opportunity and identifying the right strategy far too late (and even then, only thanks to Einav Zangaukerand Eli Albag, both parents to hostages, and not the campaign’s leadership) was ultimately what determined the tragic fate of many of the hostages.